DAVID MOYES began the task of lifting spirits today after Everton's 2-0 weekend defeat against Tottenham Hotspur saw them equal an unwanted club record in the Premiership.

The Blues have now lost their last six league games - just as Joe Royle's side did between December 1996 and January 1997 - and they remain anchored to the foot of the table with just three points from eight matches.

It all makes for grim reading but Moyes believes he saw flickering signs of a revival at White Hart Lane and will urge his players to focus on the positives, particularly their display in an encouraging first 45 minutes.

"We have to be positive and try to keep upbeat," said Moyes. "We went there and we wanted to be hard to beat and in the main we did that. In the first half we kept a good discipline to our play and a good shape to our game.

"I hoped that we'd do the same in the second half but we let a goal in and we had to start chasing the game. That can happen when you feel comfortable. The opposition can hurt you.

"The attitude of the players was excellent. They were really ready for the game and I could tell inside the dressing room that they were really ready to give a good performance.

"We knew coming to Tottenham would be hard and we know that Chelsea next week is going to be hard. We've not had a great record at Tottenham but for a lot of the game, we did well enough to stay in the game."

Not for the first time this season, however, the Everton manager was left to rue an individual error - namely Joseph Yobo's catastrophic pass to Edgar Davids in the build-up to Spurs' opening goal - as the reason Everton again headed home empty-handed.

"From our point of view, it was a really poor goal considering what we had set out to do," Moyes grumbled. "I was really disappointed. If you can't pull off the hard things, you should not bother trying until you can do the basic.

"Sometimes those things work for you but that one led to a goal. We can't afford to do these things. We are in a bit of a run and we have got to try and get out of it fast. At the minute we need a goal."

Concurring with Moyes, Phil Neville accepted that Yobo's lapse had proven so costly and it crucially came at a time when Everton looked ready to build on what had been an encouraging 45 minutes.

It has led to suggestions that Everton are suffering from a crisis of confidence but Neville - again one of his side's top performers - dismissed those claims and backed the fighting spirit in the club to lift the Blues off the bottom.

"We came in at half-time when Nigel had made a good save and Nuno had done well to clear one off the line and you start to think that our luck is about to change. We haven't had much luck since the start of the season," said Neville.

"I know you can't rely on that all the time but sometimes you need a little bit of luck. We were pleased at half-time. We knew that we had to come out second half and keep going forward but lapses in concentration are just killing us at the moment.

"We have got to eradicate them sooner rather than later. There is no doubt about us sticking together. There is an unbelievable self-belief and confidence in that dressing room. The thing we have got to realise is that we are in a battle."